Christmas spending is set to rise to more than £50bn in December according to the latest figures from APACs which monitors UK spending habits.

Its figures show that overall UK spending on cards, cash and cheques in December will reach £51.6bn, an increase of 6.6 per cent over the same period last year which shows people are needing more credit card solutions.

The biggest rise in spending will be on debit cards, a 20.1 per cent rise over 2005 to £17bn. Credit card spending is predicted to remain broadly similar at £11.4bn.

Chiltern Debt Management general manager Jackie Newton says: “Plastic is playing an increasingly large role in UK spending but it’s encouraging to see that the amount spent on credit cards does not look set to rise this Christmas.

“”The festive period is always an exciting one and the temptation to spend, spend, spend is incredibly high. But on the flip side of the coin we have just seen an interest rate rise which will see the cost of credit rising and January always sees a huge increase in the number of people contacting us to seek advice about their debts,” continues Ms Newton.